Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.
BEASTING
Etymology
Noun
beasting (usually uncountable, plural beastings)
(UK, military, slang) The imposition of arduous exercises, either as training or as punishment.
Verb
beasting
present participle of beast
Anagrams
• bangiest, beatings
Source: Wiktionary
BEAST
Beast, n. Etym: [OE. best, beste, OF. beste, F. bête, fr. L. bestia.]
1. Any living creature; an animal; -- including man, insects, etc. [Obs.] Chaucer.
2. Any four-footed animal, that may be used for labor, food, or sport; as, a beast of burden. A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast. Prov. xii. 10.
3. As opposed to man: Any irrational animal.
4. Fig.: A coarse, brutal, filthy, or degraded fellow.
5. A game at cards similar to loo. [Obs.] Wright.
6. A penalty at beast, omber, etc. Hence: To be beasted, to be beaten at beast, omber, etc. Beast royal, the lion. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Syn.
– Beast, Brute. When we use these words in a figurative sense, as applicable to human beings, we think of beasts as mere animals governed by animal appetite; and of brutes as being destitute of reason or moral feeling, and governed by unrestrained passion. Hence we speak of beastly appetites; beastly indulgences, etc.; and of brutal manners; brutal inhumanity; brutal ferocity. So, also, we say of a drunkard, that he first made himself a beast, and then treated his family like a brute.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
5 November 2024
TEMPORIZE
(verb) draw out a discussion or process in order to gain time; “The speaker temporized in order to delay the vote”
Coffee Trivia
